Electric hand lantern



ELECTRIC HAND LANTERN Filed April 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l I! 'W Z k I c I INVENTOR.

CZZ/TJ b. Luz/ 50m ATTORNEY Sept. 12, 1944. c LARSON 2,358,015-

ELECTRIC HAND LANTERN Filed April 10, 1941 2 \Shee ts-Sheet 2 a km III

M um

INVENTOR.

CaPZ flla/asan BY ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 12, 1944 NT OFFICE ELECTRIC HAND LANTERN Carl H. Larson, Elkhart, Ind., assignor toThe Adlake Company, a corporation of Illinois Application-April 10, 1941, Serial No. 387,880

8 Claims.

Thisinventionrelates to electric lanterns used by railway trainmen and has forits principal object to provide a lantern having a lens and two lamps, either of which may be placed in axial register with the lens together with means to visually indicate which lamp is in register.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the disclosure proceeds and the description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings showing selected embodiments of the invention and in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lantern;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of several parts that are to be assembled with the lantern body;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the lower portion of the lantern;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-'-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section similar to Fig; 3, but taken at right angles to the plane in which that section is taken;

Fig. 6 i a section taken on the line 6-45 of Fig. 3.

' But these specific drawings and the corresponding description are used for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to impose unnecessarylimitations on the claims.

Generally speaking, the lantern includes a body I 0 forming a battery casing and having a removable cover II affording access to it. A hinged bail I2 is secured to the lantern body by bolts l3 and is heldin adjusted position by the arms I4 engaging the spaced lugs I5.

As will best appear in Figs. 3 and 5, the casing in this instance is a drawn cylinder having spaced beads l6 and integral inturned flange IT at the bottom.

"A disk l8 (Fig. 2) of" Bakelite, Formica, hard rubber or other insulating material, rests upon the top surface of the flange l1 and is secured to the flange by rivets [9, so that it forms a head for the casing.

A contact ring 20 resting upon the upper surface of the disk I8 is secured to it by ears 2| extending downwardly through holes 22 in the disk and crimped beneath it. At one side the ring- 20 has a projecting ear 23-turned downwardly and extending through aligned slot 24 in the disk l8 and the flange I1; -is to make electric connection with the side terminal of a familiar form of battery, which is supported on the head or disk l8, and the ear 23 is to form a corresponding side contact by which the battery is grounded to the lantern casing through a switch'mechanism.

The ring 20 r Within the ring and secured to the disk 18 by rivets 25 is a metallic disk 26 having a resilient tongue 2l'projecting through a slot 28 in the disk l8. The metal disk 26 makes electrical contact with the center terminal of the battery and the tongue 21 forms a center contact for engagementwith a lamp.

Lamp sockets 29 and30, a lens 3| and a switch 32 are mounted upon and carried by what may be called a cap, consisting of a flat end wall 33 and a cylindrical side wall 34 which latter telescopes over the bottom of the lantern body l0 and is secured to it by screws 35,

The lens 3| has suitable optical forms 36 by which the light from one of the lamps 31 or 38 is dispersed and otherwise made suitable for the purpose. As no claim for the particular optical formation per se is made, specific disclosure will be omitted.

The lens'3l is secured to the lower side of the end wall 33 by a ring 39 having spaced arcuate flanges 40 to cooperate with the bayonet projections 4| 0n the lens. Those flanges are slightly inclined and are elastic in order to create appropriate amount of friction and maintain a slight pressure on the projections 4|. Upturned end portions 42 on the flanges act as limit stops for the projections 4 I.

The ring 39 is here shown as secured to the end wall 33 by fingers 43 projecting through slots 44 and crimped over. Instead, or in addition, Welding, brazing, etc., may be used.

The lamp sockets 29 and 30 are fixed to a carrier or slide 45, shown as an oblong plate with rounded ends 46 adapted to rest upon the upper surface of the end wall 33' and cover an elongated diametrical slot 41 through which the lamps 3'! and 38 project from the sockets 29 and 30.

The lower ends of the lamp sockets 29 and 30 project through slot 41 and form guides contacting with the side walls of the slot to direct its movements when pushed back and forth and to hold it in proper register when set in one of the two operative positions. The carrier is. held in place by a spring clip 48 secured to the end Wall 33 by a bolt 49, and having an ofiset portion 50 extending over the upper side of the carrier and provided with a projection 5| adapted to seat in one of the sockets 52 when the corresponding lamp 31 or 38 is brought into register with the axis of the lens 3| and the center 'contact 21.

The side contact of 'each lamp is electrically connected with the corresponding socket andthe sockets-29 and'30' are electrically connected with the plate 33, is grounded to it. The center contacts 53 and 54 of the lamps are exposed through a Bakelite or other insulating plate 55, ex-

tending between the two lamp sockets 29 and 39 and made fast by peening over the metal of 7 each, as indicated at 56.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 3, thelamp 38 is in register with the axis of the lens 3| and the center contact 21, which is shown engaged with the center contact 54 of the lamp 38 The lamp carrier will be held in position to maintain that relationship by the lug 5|, seated in the left socket 52 in the carrier 45. By shifting the carrier 45 to the left, the lamp socket 30, with its lamp 38, may be moved to the dotted line position in Fig. 3 and the lamp socket 29, with its lamp 31, will be brought intoregister with the lens and the center contact 21, where 'the parts will be held by the lug 5| resting in the right socket 52 in the carrier. Y

It is intended that the lamp 38, for instance, will be used for regular service and the lamp 31 held for reserve, to be put in use only when the lamp. 38 grows dim or is burnt out. 7

The carrier 45 is provided with a handle 51, welded to it at 58 at one end and having the opposite end projecting through a hole 59 in the side wall 34 of the cap and turned up at 60 to form a finger piece. By this arrangement the handle not only serves as a mechanical means for shifting the carrier back and forth within the cap, but it is an indicator projecting laterally from the lantern to visually indicate the position of the carrier and, therefore, which of the selective lamps is in position to be used.

- Current from the center contact 21 through the lamp to the socket thence to the carrier 45 and thence to the lantern cap, is connected with the side contact 23 by a. resilient switch arm 6|, carried by a switch plate 62 slidable along the insideof the curved wall 34 of the cap, which is slotted at 63 toreceive the reduced portion 64 .of a knob 65, secured to the switch plate 62 and a flat spring 66 by rivet 61. As will be seen most clearly in Fig. 6, when'the knob 65 is moved to the right the resilient switch arm 6| will be 7 brought into wiping engagement with the contact '23, thereby closing the circuit through the wards the periphery of the lantern cap and provided with a projection 12, adapted'to extend through an opening 13 in the wall 33 and engage one of the bayonet lugs 4| on the lens 3| and prevent the lens from working out of position due to vibration in a car. Preferably the projection serves as a yieldable latch which becomes eifective as the lens'is turned to final assembled position; but can be overcome by appropriate force applied'in the opposite direction.

A base for the lantern is formed by a guard ring 14 and four legs 15, each having one end wrapped around the guard ring 14 and the other riveted to the wall 34' of the cap at 16.

By mounting the lamp socket carrier and switch on the separable cap, ready access for cleaning and repairing is had.

In Fig. 6 it will be observed that the handle the metal slide 45 which, being in contact with 51 is at one side of the center line of the carrier 45. The purpose of this is to facilitate the assembly with the cap after the finger piece '60 has been bent at right angles to the main body of the handle as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In the assembly the carrier with its handle are brought to a position approximately parallel to the side wall 34 of the cap and the finger piece inserted through the opening 59 from the inside, then the carrier is revolved towards the right in Fig. 3 and given rotation of 180 about the handle in order to turn the finger piece 60 downwardly, after which the carrier is brought flat down on the end wall 33 of the cap with the lower ends of the lamp sockets 29 and 30 projecting through the slot 41. The spring clip 48 is then put in position and made fast by the bolt 49.

I claim:

1. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing and having a center contact projecting from the end, a cap onthe body having a slotted end wall opposite to the center contact, a lens having its axis aligned with the center contact, means interlocking the lens with the cap on the outside of said wall, a lamp socket carrier on the inside of the slotted end wall bearing two lamp sockets and slidablealong that wall to selected positions to bring either lamp socket into register with the center contact, and common means to restrain the lamp carrier and lens from unwanted movement comprising an element having a portion yieldably latching the lamp carrier in its selected positions and having another portion yieldably engaging the interlocking means.

2. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing and having an inwardly directed flange at one end, an insulating disk on the in-. side of said flange having an elongated slot in-' ward from the flange, a metallic plate fastened to the'inside of the insulating disk forengagement with the terminal of a battery in the casing,

means below the insulating disk mounting a lamp base for sliding movement laterally of the insulating disk, and a spring finger narrower than the width of the slot extending integrally from the metallic plate, through the slot, and having its free end portion reversely bent lengthwise of the slot outside the insulating disk and bowed toward it to present a curved surface spaced from said disk for wiping engagement with the center contact of the lamp base approaching from either of the directions in which it may be moved, whereby the finger may be reversely bent and bowed before the metallic plate is fastened to the insulating disk. V

3. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing, a cap on the body, a lens having parts interlocked with parts of the cap, a lamp carrier movable on the cap to position a lamp selectively into and out of register with the axis of the lens,

and a clip mounted on the cap having a portion yieldably latching the carrier in its selected positions andhaving another .portion yieldably engaging an interlocking'part to restrain the lens from unwanted movement relative to the cap.

4. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing and having a battery-supporting end head provided with outwardly projecting centerv and side contacts, a cap having a sidewall secured to the body outwardly of the casing in electrical contact therewith and having a slotted end wall spaced from the contacts, two lamp sockets aligned with the slot in the end wall,

.a conductive lamp socket; carrier grounding the sockets on the cap and movable along the end wall to bring the center of either socket into electrical engagement with the center contact, and an independent switch grounded on the cap and having a handle projecting through and movable along the side wall of the cap to move the switch into and out of electrical engagement with the side contact projecting from the end head, whereby the lamps, carrier and switch are all mounted on the cap and are removable as a unit therewith.

5. In an electric lantern, a body forming a generally cylindrical battery casing and having a battery-supporting end head provided with outwardly projecting center and side contacts, a cap having a side wall and an end wall secured in grounded relation to the casing provided with a slot in said side Wall adjacent to said side contact and a slot in said end wall adjacent to said center contact, a lens on the outside of said end wall with its axis aligned with the center contact, a conductive lamp socket carrier on the inside of the slotted end wall of the cap bearing a plurality of lamp sockets grounding the same on the cap and slidable along the end wall to bring a selected one of said sockets into register and electrical engagement with said center contact, and a switch grounded on the cap and having a handle projecting through said slot in the side wall of the cap to move the switch along said side wall into and out of engagement with the side contact, whereby the lamps, carrier, switch and lens are all mounted on the cap and are removable as a unit therewith.

6. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing and having an inwardly directed flange at one end, an insulating disk on the inside of said flange having an elongated slot inward from the flange, and a metallic plate secured to the inside of. the insulating disk for engagement with the terminal of a battery in the casing and having an integral spring finger narrower than the short dimension of the slot pro-,

jecting through the slot in the insulating disk and reversely bent in the direction of the long dimension of the slot to engage the center contact of a lamp mounted below the flange, the dimension of the finger and slot being so proportioned that the finger may be reversely bent before the metallic plate and insulating disk are assembled.

7. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing and having a center contact projecting from an end thereof, a cap for the casing having a flat end wall provided with a slot opposite to the projecting contact and having a side wall provided with a hole, a lamp carrier mounting two lamps, means mounting the carrier for sliding movement on said end wall with the lamps penetrating said slot and guided thereby, said means comprising a clip secured to the end wall and overhanging one end portion of the carrier and a rigid rod extending from the other end portion only of the carrier and fitting snugly through said hole, whereby the rod may be recipocated axially to move the carrier and indicate by the extent of its pojection from the cap which lamp is in register with the center contact.

8. In an electric lantern, a body forming a battery casing and having a center contact projecting from the end thereof, a lamp bearing cap having an end wall provided with a slot opposite to the projecting contact and having a side wall provided with a single hole for a combined indicator and handle rod, a lamp socket carrier having a service lamp socket and a reserve lamp socket aligned with said slot and guided thereby, said lamp socket carrier being movable along the end wall to bring either lamp socket into register with the projecting contact, and means for moving said carrier comprising a combined indicator and handle rod mounted in and snugly fit ting the hole and movable axially therethrough selectively to position the lamp sockets in register with the projecting contact and thereby to indicate by the extent of its projection from the cap whether the service or reserve lamp socket is in register with the projecting contact.

CARL H. LARSON. 

